WHITE NATURE
ER Park Report After the First Real Snow of the Season
by
Yori Yanover
Last night the East River Park became winter wonderland – it’s amazing how far this park can stretch one inch of snow… After shul I took my bike down to the track at 10th Street and was gratified to discover only a handful of nuts with parklust similar to mine...
POLICE, ANYONE?
Yes, But Was It Real Assault?
by
Pat Arnow
An Officer Nicholas is at the front desk of the police station on Delancey and Pitt. The woman describes what happened. The officer wants to know what race the kids were. Black. (She's white.) How old? About 15. Did they demand money? No. Did they touch you? No. Officer Nicholas says it doesn't sound like a report needed to be filed. "They just politely asked for money," he says...
BLACK GOLD
Maloney Pushes Bill to Ensure Accuracy of Oil Royalties Collections
by
Joe Soldevere
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14) is touting legislation she recently reintroduced (H.R. 435) that would help ensure that the federal government uses the most accurate methods to collect royalties on natural resources taken by oil and gas companies from taxpayer-owned land...
DWELLING POLITICS
Velazquez's Fight to Preserve Affordable Housing
by
Melissa D. DeRosa
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez introduced H.R. 655, "The Pathway to Preservation Act," to make it easier for local governments to purchase HUD-owned buildings that are slated for foreclosure, preserving affordable housing opportunities for low income families in the city and across the nation. ...
MATURING BARS 1/23/07
Clandestino to Celebrate First Birthday
by
Laure Travers
Time flies, or stays still, or plays all kinds of tricks on us! In a week and a half, Clandestino will be 1 year, 12 months, 365 days old! And what a year it's been...
LOCAL TALENT 1/23/07
Martin Connor Candidate for State Comptroller
by
Marty Algaze
New York State Senator Martin Connor (D-25 S.D.-Manhattan/Brooklyn) submitted papers today seeking to fill the vacant state Comptroller's position. Connor, the most senior Democrat in the New York State Senate, resigned as assistant counsel to the State Comptroller when he was first elected to the Senate in 1978...
WORSHIP ELSEWHERE 1/22/07
The Other Shoe Has Dropped
by
Rob Hollander
The Archdiocese announced yesterday that it will close Mary Help of Christians parish. Already facing development at Charas (P.S. 64) and St Brigid's, our neighborhood is now losing an even larger tract to the upscale, high-rise density market. And because our neighborhood is about to be rezoned, we should expect to see developers moving fast to lay their foundations under the current zoning to avoid any restrictions of a new zoning...
DIRTY FEDS 1/19/07
EPA’s Test-and-Clean Woerthless: NY
by
Jonathan Bennett
The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health strongly opposes the EPA’s "final" plan concerning contamination resulting from the collapse of the World Trade Center, which opened its registration hotline today. Neither EPA nor any other governmental agency has eever conducted post-9/11 environmental sampling in Lower Manhattan workplaces or offered employers and workers environmental cleanups where warranted...
VOLUNTEER NOTES FROM ALL OVER 1/19/07
Renew and Rebuild at the Stanton
by
Jonathan Shore
Volunteers will assemble at our shul, 180 Stanton Street, this Sunday, Jan 21. Come meet and participate with the volunteers in fixing up our shul. Join General Contractor and longtime friend of the shul, Marty Radburd on various "renewal" projects around the shul...
RESTORATIONS 1/14/07
A Peek Inside the Old Eldridge
by
Yori Yanover
Took the tour at the Eldridge Street Synagogue this morning. For $5 we got an incredible view of a hundred and twenty years of history of a congregation begun 1n 1886. The architects, Herter Brothers, used a combination (Okay, mish-mash) of Gothic, Romanesque, and Moorish styles, complete with bizarre minaret towers. The sum total is, nevertheless, graceful...
YOUTH 1/14/07
Stringer Creates Youth Sports League for Manhattan Kids
by
Maibe Gonzalez-Fuentes
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer in conjunction with the New York Police Athletic League (PAL) announced the creation of the Borough President's Youth Sports League (YSL), a new borough-wide initiative that will serve more than 1,000 children in neighborhoods across Manhattan...
BOOKS 1/12/07
Reading in Lower East Sideistan
by
Pat Arnow
On Wednesday evening novelists Gary Shteyngart and Sigrid Nunez read from their books and answered questions in the visitors' center and shop with the standing-room-only crowd piled in around the counters and shelves...
NEW SCARE 1/11/07
Parents Decry After-School Violence at Police Meeting
by
Nancy J. Kramer
More than a dozen parents from the neighborhood’s Bard High School and the Nest+m school came to the 7th Precinct Community Council meeting Wednesday, to complain about the lack of police response assaults and attempted robberies against their children...
REVERED & REVILED BIRD 1/08/07
The Book on Pigeons
by
Pat Arnow
I hate pigeons. Except for one. It was a homing pigeon who got lost and landed on my balcony. Out on the street, I want to scream at the little old people who throw seed and bread for the pigeons to stop feeding the little poop factories. Into such a swirl of inchoate love, interest, and irritation, a friend dropped a copy of a new book, Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird by Andrew Blechman...
SAFETY (AND SANITY) RESTORED 1/08/07
Silver to DOT: Take Down the Median
by
Yori Yanover, Editor
Dear Commissioner Weinshall: As per our recent discussion, it is with great urgency that I contact you regarding the concrete median recently built in the intersection of Grand Street and the FDR Drive. This median poses a great danger for both pedestrians and vehicles and I strongly recommend that it be removed immediately...
NEW BOSS LADIES 1/05/07
Velazquez Legislative Package to Improve Quality of Life
by
Kate Davis
As Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez (D-NY) was officially sworn in to the 110th Congress today, she introduced a legislative package to address a number of the ongoing concerns that New York City families and small businesses have been faced with over the past several years...
DOWNTOWNERS UP IN ALBANY 1/04/07
State of the State of the State
by
Yori Yanover
Governor Spitzer spoke for about half an hour - a huge improvement over his predecessor, Pataki, who took hours to say nothing. Spitzer managed to say nothing in much less time. Basically he promised to improve a lot of stuff without raising taxes. OK...
DOWNTOWNER IN DC (II) 1/04/07
Velazquez Official Swearing In to 110th Congress
by
Kate Davis
The start of the 110th Congress will kick-off for Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez (D - NY), by being officially sworn in on Thursday January 4 to begin her 8th term of serving the residents of New York's 12th congressional district...
DOWNTOWNER IN DC 1/04/07
Nadler to Gonzales: Talk!
by
Ari Goldberg
I have a question about the practice of extraordinary rendition, particularly rendition to repressive countries we know practice torture. A Canadian
citizen, Mr. Arar, was detained in 2002 at JFK Airport in New York as a suspected terrorist. He was on his way home to Canada...
